


Friends From Work

by heyjupiter



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Extremis Pepper Potts, Gen, Minor Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Rescue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-05
Updated: 2018-05-05
Packaged: 2019-05-02 08:47:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14541060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heyjupiter/pseuds/heyjupiter
Summary: Following Thanos's attack, Valkyrie arrives in Central Park looking for the Hulk, the only Earthling she knows. It turns out she just missed him, but instead meets Pepper Potts, who offers to upgrade Valkyrie's armor.





	Friends From Work

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for Infinity War!

Pepper dug her nails into her palms and counted her breaths. She felt blood trickle out of her palms, but none of the burning that signified an Extremis flare-up. She was holding it together, despite her rage.

One minute ago, she'd been strolling around Central Park, having a ridiculous conversation with her fiance. Now, she was standing alone in Central Park, staring at the empty space where her fiance had disappeared into a magic portal, accompanied by their dear friend who had been missing for two years and...and a wizard or something. And they hadn't even asked if she wanted to go with them! Not that she did want to, she was pretty sure, but it would have been nice if they'd _asked_. Instead, Tony had _told_ her he had to go, and that she should get out of the city and get to the safe house they'd established upstate, between the city and the training facility.

She forcibly unclenched her fists and continued her measured breathing. Every single time she thought she had come to terms with what Iron Man meant, to Tony and to her, something new came up. And he wanted to bring a kid into this? 

Pepper wiped her hands off on her Lululemon pants and pulled out her phone. Whatever was going on was surely going to create more work for Stark Industries, which meant more work for her. Which meant she should really get going. She started walking toward the nearest street, intending to hail a cab back to the suite they kept in the city after selling Stark Tower. 

Instead, she found her path blocked by some sort of glowing, flying horse a few feet in front of her. "Are you fucking kidding me?" she mumbled to herself. She glanced around the park and saw no one else nearby. Everyone else had scattered pretty quickly when the glowing portal opened up in the park.

A beautiful but bedraggled black woman was astride the horse. She looked all around her with an intent expression on her face, then gracefully hopped down from the horse, apparently not having found what she was looking for.

"Hello," the woman said, standing directly in front of Pepper. Her armor was worse for the wear, but under the grime, it looked somehow familiar to Pepper.

"Hi. I'm sorry to be rude, but I'm in a bit of a hurry," Pepper said. 

"Yes, as am I," the woman said, not moving. "I'm looking for the Hulk? Or Bruce Banner?" She pronounced the name with a careful precision, as if she'd learned it phonetically.

"Yeah, you and me both," Pepper said. 

"Oh! Then maybe we can work together. My steed thought he would be here." 

"Well, you and your steed _just_ missed him," Pepper snapped. Then she took a breath. She shouldn't take out her irritation on this woman. None of this was _her_ fault. Pepper looked at the woman more closely and realized what her clothing reminded Pepper of. "Are you from Asgard, by any chance?" she asked.

The woman made a face. "I suppose I am."

"You don't sound like Thor," Pepper blurted out, then immediately hoped that wasn't offensive. Tony had once pointed out that Thor talked like he worked at a Renaissance Fair, and Pepper had never been able to hear Thor the same way after that. This woman didn't quite have that vibe, and Pepper had meant it as a compliment. But Thor was their prince, so maybe he spoke the Asgardian equivalent of the Queen's English.

Fortunately, the woman said, "Thank you," touching her hand to her chest with a smile. "But what do you mean, I _just_ missed him? Where did he go?"

"I don't know. He went, um, through a portal. With, um, a wizard? I think." 

"Ah," the woman said glumly. "Well. A portal."

"Um, how do you know Bruce?" Pepper asked.

The woman tilted her head for a moment, clearly debating her answer. "He's a friend from work," she said finally.

"I see."

"How do _you_ know him?" the woman asked.

"I...well, I guess you could also say he's a friend from work." Pepper lifted her chin and extended a hand. "I'm Pepper Potts. I'm Tony Stark's...fiancee...and I...work with the Avengers."

The woman's face lit up. "Yes! Pepper. Bruce told me about you. It's great to meet you, Pepper. You can call me Val." 

Val gave Pepper a vigorous handshake, and Pepper couldn't help but wonder what Bruce had been up to over the last few years. After he'd put the Quinjet in stealth mode, Tony had spent so many hours trying to find any traces of Bruce. She and Tony had both missed him terribly, but after a certain point, Pepper's grief had begun to transmute into quiet resentment about the whole situation, about Bruce's ongoing silence and Tony's persistence; and that had been followed by guilt about her resentment.

But Bruce's appearance in the park had shaken her and reminded her of how much she cared about him. Bruce had always had a bit of a kicked-puppy look to him, but this had been next level. She reminded herself that this wasn't the time to dwell on Bruce's trauma; with any luck, this current menace would be resolved quickly and they could all schedule therapy appointments for next week.

"So, Val...why are you looking for Bruce?"

"Well, Earth is in grave peril and...and he's the only Earthling I know."

"That sounds about right," Pepper muttered. "Well, I'm sure he and Tony are working on it, whatever it is. Wherever they went, with, um, he said his name was Doctor Strange."

"Tony Stark is the Iron Man?"

"Um, yes. Tony is the Iron Man. Do you know who I'm talking about, with the portal? Doctor Strange? Is he from Asgard too? He had a...a cape, it looked kind of like..." Pepper made a fluttery hand gesture where a cape would go. If she had taken that job with Microsoft after college, she would never have to have conversations like this.

"No, I don't believe so," Val said, her lips pursed. "Can you call the other...Avengers?"

"I'm sure Tony is already...well...it's kind of...I'll see what I can do," Pepper said. She pulled out her phone and started texting Rhodey before asking, "Um, by any chance, do you know if Thor is coming too?"

"I think Thor is...occupied," Val said.

"Of course he is. Oh, you know...I could also get you some new armor. And I...I could probably help too." She flexed her fingers, aware of what Extremis could do. Aware of what _she_ could do.

Val sized her up for a moment, then nodded her approval. "Well, that's something to start with."

"I can't explain here," Pepper said. "Can...should we get a cab? Can your...horse...fly? Is that real?" The winged horse had been standing perfectly still since Val had dismounted, but its eyes were alert.

Val paused before answering, "She's real enough. She will carry us."

"...okay," Pepper said. "Um. I can show you directions on my phone?"

"Just tell her where we need to go and she will take us."

"Just like--just the name of it? Oh--oh is that how you came here? You told her to find Bruce and she did--just a little late? Could we try that again? Did you still want to see Bruce? I assume they were staying on Earth."

Val considered this. "It sounds as if he will be occupied with the Iron Man and the Strange man for the time being. At the very least, I'd like to see the armor you spoke of. It sounds like it will be useful for what's to come. Now, tell this steed where to go, and she will take us."

"Does she have a name?" Pepper asked.

"I don't know," Val said. "I...borrowed her."

"Borrowed?"

"I...summoned her from...another realm. She's--she's meant to help with...this kind of thing," Val said. She clearly did not wish to say anything else about the horse's origins, but Pepper wasn't sure she'd understand anyway. Asgardian stuff had always been a little hard for her to grasp. Pepper's innate pragmatism made her great at her job, but it had not prepared her to ever meet a real-life space prince-god.

Pepper reached out a tentative hand toward the horse and said, feeling very silly, but just wanting to be sure, "Um, I don't have to be a virgin or anything, right?"

Val laughed as if it were the funniest thing she'd ever heard. "Oh! Can you imagine?" she said, once she'd caught her breath. "No, of course not. Come, let's go."

"Okay," Pepper agreed. She touched the horse, which was incredibly soft, and said, "Hi. Could you please take us to the Avengers Training Facility upstate?"

The horse made a small horse sound and knelt down so Val and Pepper could mount her. Val sat behind Pepper, and the horse...flew. Pepper had ridden horses a few times before, and Pepper flown before, plenty of times--airplanes large and small, carried by Tony in his suit, lifted by her own suit--but traveling by flying horse was definitely her new favorite. Pepper laughed, feeling somehow light and free despite the dire circumstances. As a child, Pepper had barely been able to imagine owning a toy My Little Pony; actually flying on a winged horse was beyond her wildest dreams.

The horse made excellent time upstate, and they landed in the mostly empty parking lot. After they dismounted, Val whispered something to the horse, and it immediately flew straight up into the sky and disappeared from view. 

"Oh!" Pepper said.

"She'll come back if we need her," Val said. "She liked you."

"She did?" Pepper asked, oddly flattered. "Oh, well, that's nice. Um, let's just go inside, and I'll show you the armory…" She paused for a retina scan at the door and ushered Val into the large compound, firing off another message to Rhodey as she headed to the armory. 

She wasn't sure how Val would receive it; she knew Tony had been miffed in the past by Thor's reactions to some of his tech. It turned out that cutting edge _for Earth standards_ was not a compliment that Tony appreciated, although Pepper still thought it sounded pretty good.

Pepper gestured toward the cabinets and cases that filled the room. "I guess I'm not really sure what you'd like to use, but...help yourself. I don't think most of this stuff has been used in a little while." Pepper fidgeted with her bracelet while Val enthusiastically explored the armory's contents.

The armory's door slid open again, and Rhodey said, "Hey Pepper. You didn't tell me you were bringing a friend?"

"Oh, I didn't? Well, this is Val. Val, Rhodey."

"Hello," Val said, glancing up from a set of high-tech arrows. 

"Hi," Rhodey said. "So, who wants to tell me what the hell is going on?"

 

"Rhodey, you know I would if I had any idea myself," Pepper said, feeling a fiery spark of frustration. "Tony and I were taking a nice, quiet walk through Central Park when this, this glowing portal opened up, and suddenly Bruce and this wizard were there--"

"Bruce Banner?"

"No, Springsteen," Pepper snapped. Rhodey lifted his eyebrows. "No, sorry, it's just been a very frustrating morning. Yes, Bruce Banner, I still have no idea where he's been for the last two years--"

"Oh, he's been on Sakaar," Val said, studying a Taser with approval. "Mostly. He was the Grandmaster's greatest Champion."

"--okay, I don't know what any of that means, so let's circle back to that in a minute," Pepper said. "Anyway, Bruce said that Thanos was coming to Earth and they needed to stop him, so Tony went back through the portal with them, I have no idea where they went, I…"

"Hey," Rhodey said, offering her a hug. "It'll be okay."

"It's actually probably not going to be okay," Val said. "What does this do?"

"Um," Rhodey said. "It's a missile launcher. Who are you, again?"

"You can call me Val, I...work with Thor."

"But Thor's not coming," Pepper added. 

"Okay, well...we'll figure something out. You know we always do," Rhodey said, and it would have been more reassuring if he were physically recovered from his last superhero escapade.

"I thought--I thought I might, you know, put on my Rescue suit, and just...see if I could help with anything," Pepper said. "And I think there's a prototype that would probably fit you, Val."

Rhodey laughed and opened up a cabinet. "Yeah, you have plenty to choose from." 

"Jesus," Pepper muttered. There were at least five different Rescue suits in there. She hadn't realized Tony had made so many after they'd talked about it, but then, she wasn't surprised. Rhodey made a face at her like, _You know Tony_ , and she nodded and rolled her eyes, because she definitely did know Tony.

"What's this?" Val asked.

"Um. You know how Tony is Iron Man? Well, he just...he made a lot of different suits of Iron Man armor. And we talked about him making one for me. Except mine is more defensive. Like--like for search and rescue. So he called it the Rescue armor. I haven't really done much with it, though. I didn't know there were so many of them."

Rhodey said, "I don't think I've seen all of these either. Looks like this one is designed for underwater, so you probably don't want it--wait, right? We're expecting something on land?"

"Yes," Val said. "I believe the combat will be above ground. But you said these don't have weapons? I'm going to need weapons." She looked at the armor's gauntlets carefully, still holding the missile launcher in one hand.

"Well, I've got about ten War Machine suits you can try if you want, but I think Pepper's right and the Rescue armor will fit you better."

"War Machine? I like the sound of that very much," Val said.

Rhodey opened another case and demonstrated some of his suits. Despite herself, Pepper felt pleased that Val was so obviously appreciative both of Tony's work and Rhodey's technique. They managed to adjust some plates to make a War Machine suit fit Val well enough. Pepper remembered wearing one of Tony's suits; it wasn't as comfortable as the Rescue suit, but it was better than dying.

While Rhodey was demonstrating some of the finer points of suit-based take-offs and landings, Pepper checked her phone. Tony had texted her, "I love you don't be mad." While she was debating if she should reply, a news alert went off about aliens attacking Greenwich Village. New Yorkers were encouraged to shelter in place. 

"That was fast," she muttered. "Hey, Rhodey?"

"Yeah, I see it on my heads up display," he said. "I guess that's enough practice, Val. You seem like a natural. Pepper?"

"Yeah, I guess...I guess I'd better suit up," Pepper said. She twisted her fitness tracker bracelet and the pieces of her Rescue armor flew out and gently encapsulated her body. 

"Hello, Pepper," FRIDAY said, once the suit was in place.

"Hi, FRIDAY. I guess we'd...I guess we'd better get to where those aliens are. You have the coordinates?"

"Yes. First responders are already on the scene, but it seems there will be plenty of collateral damage."

"Of course there will be."

"Everyone ready?" Rhodey asked.

"I guess," Pepper said.

Val screamed a wordless but enthusiastic response.

"Well, let's not be tardy to the party," Rhodey said. FRIDAY opened the roof of the facility and the three of them flew out, heading right back into danger. 

"Oh, FRIDAY, will you text Tony back, please? Tell him, quote, I am mad but I love you anyway, end quote."

Immediately, Tony's worried face appeared in her heads-up display. He'd forced a call through. "Pepper? Are you in a Rescue suit right now?"

"Obviously."

"I thought I told you go to get to a safe house, Pepper, this is really bad--"

"--which is what this suit is for, Tony. Now stop talking to me and go fight some aliens, or whatever."

Tony drew a haggard breath and said, "I love you, Pepper."

"I love you too," Pepper replied, and ended the call.


End file.
